Telephone-reel



C l H. ROTH. TELEPHONE REEL.v APPLICATION FILED ocT.14, 191e.

Patentea'July 13, 1920.

awww/mo UNITED STATES' PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES H. ROTH, 0F AKRON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY, OF AKRON, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

TELEPHONE-REEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 13, 1920.

Application filed Uctober 14, 1916. Serial Ilo. 125,623.

4following is a specification.

l My present invention relates to means for automatically reeling in or paying out a telephone line suspended from a captive balloon,vin accordance with the variations in elevation and drift of the balloon.

A constant communication between the ground and the balloon is necessary if the observations made by the balloon pilots are to be immediately recorded by those stationed on the ground, as, for instance, in military usages. Telephones are most commonly employed to establish the desired communication, yet some means must be provided whereby slack in the telephone cable may be immediatelyv taken up to prevent a fouling of the line, or whereby any sudden tension upon the line may be immediately relieved by paying out additional lengths of cable. lt is also a requisite that means be provided to exert a constant tension 011 the telephone line, as the latter is being paid out, in order that it may not run too freely. Previously, it has been the custom to station ya guard upon the ground at a hand reel upon which the telephone cable is coiled, in order to perform the required reeling in or paying out of the telephone line, `as the distance of the balloon from its tethering point on the ground varies.

My present invention, however, provides means whereby the slack of the telephone cable may be taken up, or tension upon the cable relieved, automatically with the paying out or reeling in of the cable which -tethers the observation balloon.

As one of the principal objects, it is `contemplated to provide a reel for telephone wire which is automatically controllable by movement of the tie rope for the balloon, in

such a manner that the telephone line may similar nature, which will be hereinafter more specifically treated, may be accomplished by such means as are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, described in the `following specication and then more particularly pointed out in the 'claims which are appended hereto and form `a part oi' this application. I

lVith reference to the drawings, wherein f there has been illustrated a preferred embodiment of the invention as itis reduced to practice, and throughout the several views of which, similar reference numbers designate corresponding parts:

Figure l is a side elevational view of the automatic reeling apparatus comprehended by the present invention; and

Fig. 2 is a plan View of the same subject matter.

There has been illustrated the tethering cable 10 for the balloon which is trained under a suitably anchored pulley l1 and directed thence, horizontally, to the reel 12 upon which it is to be .wound in order that the height of the balloon may be controlled from the ground by the proper manipulation of the reel.

The telephone wire reel, designated by the numeral 13, consists of a spool 14 mounted for rotation at the extremity of arms 15, the latter forming a substantially rectangular frame, the lower end 16 of which `is pivotally maintained upon a base board 17 throughthe medium of the inverted-U bolts 18 in the manner clearly illustrated. One of the bars 15 is prolonged to provide an arm 19 extending at an angle to the pivoted base of the mounting frame and a flexible connection 2O is trained over oppositely directed pulleys 21, which have a swivel attachment to the .base `board 17, in order to connect the extremity of the arm 19 with the center of the bar 15`integralv therewith. A resilient element, here shown as a contractile coil spring 22, is interposed at the central portion of the connection 20, which is maintained just above the surface of the base board 17 by the pulleys 21.v Each extremity of the spring 22 is formed with an anchoring ear 23, so that one end or the other of the spring may be anchored upon one of the pins 24 or 25, which project upwardly from the base board 17 on opposite sides of the pivoting axis of the reel mounting frame.

One extremity of the reel Mis formed with the pulley wheel 26, the periphery of which is deeply notched for the reception of the balloon cable therein. Erected upon the base board 17 and immediately below the reel pulley 26 is a brake member 27 which terminates in a sharpened projection 28 which is adapted to fit the notch or groove of the pulley 426 and to act as a brake means therefor, when the pulley is depressed upon the brake member in the manner to be immediately described.

With the parts in the relative position in which theyare illustrated in F ig. 1, the spring 22 maintains the mounting frame in such a condition that the reel pulley 26 is neither tightly forced against the balloon cable 10 or heavily depressed 'upon the brake projection 28. If the balloon now be considered as descending, it will be seen to be necessary to rotate the telephone reel 14 to reel in the cable 29. This may be accomplished by hooking the right hand anchoring ear 23 upon the pin 25, which will accordingly exert such a counter-clockwise pull upon the lever arm 19 that the mounting frame rotates through an arc' of similar direction until the moving balloon cable 10 enters the groove of the reel pulley 26 and serves to rotate the latter to reel in the telephone line 29 in exact accordance with the amount of the balloon cable simultaneously taken up upon the large reel 12.

If, on the other hand, the balloon is ascending, the left hand anchoring ear 23 is hooked over the pin 24 which serves to move the movable mounting frame through a small clockwise arc and to depress the reel pulley 26 until the brake projection enters the groove of the pulley 26'to retard the reel and. to so exert a tension upon the telephone cable 29 as the latter is paid out by the lift of the rising balloon.

The pins 24 and 25 thus provide a means for maintaining the reel inthe position required for taking in or playing out the telephone lines as the balloon makes a continued rise or descent. For relatively short movements of the balloon, the operator stationed at the balloon reel 12 may use the lever 19, as a handle to so move the mounting frame for the telephone reel as to bring the pulley 26 into contact with either the balloon rope 10 or the brake projection 28.

What I claim is:

'1. The combination with a traveling cable, of a brake element mounted in juxtaposition to said cable, a reel having a brake and cable engaging portion, a swingable frame supporting the reel'for movement into engagement with either the cable or the brake element whereby said reel is revolved or rendered` inactive, and means connected to the frame for holding the reel in yielding engagement with either the cable or the brake element.

2. The combination with a traveling cable, of a brake elementV mounted in juxtaposition to said cable, a reel having a brake and cable engaging portion, a resilient swingable frame supporting the reel for movement into engagement with either the cable or the brake element whereby said reel is revolved in one direction or rendered inactive, and means connected to the frame for holding the reel in yielding engagement with either the cable or the brake element.

3. The combination with the control cable of a balloon, of a brake, a telephone line reel, oscillatable means on which said reel is mounted, and means for oscillating said reel to bring it into contact with either said cable or said brake.

4. The combination, with the control cable of a balloon, of a brake element, and a telephone reel hingedly mounted between said control cable and said brake element for contact with either in order that the reel may be rotated by the former or have its rotation retarded by the latter.

5. In a device of the character described, a telephone line reel, a balloon cable, said balloon cable operating said reel, an oscillatable mounting frame for said reel, a brake, and means Jlor moving said frame to shift said reel into contact with the cable to drive'said reel or into contact with said brake.

6. In a device of the character described, an oscillatable mounting frame, a support for said frame, a telephone line reel-carried by said frame, a control arm for said frame and means flexibly and yieldably connecting saidarm with said support whereby said frame is normally held inY neutral position, and may be oscillated to either side of said neutral position by manipulation of said connecting means.

7. In a device of the character described, a reel; a frame mounting the reel for oscillation about a ixed axis; a lever arm carried by thejframe; a flexible element having one end secured to the arm and the other to the frame on opposite sides of said axis, resilient means interposed between the eX- tremities of said liexible element; and means for anchoring said resilient means on either side of said frame axis in order to control movement of said frame, and the reel mounted thereby, about said axis.

8. The combination of a telephone line reel, a movable balloon cable, a resilient, oscillatable mounting for moving said reel into operative relation with said cable whereby said reel is operated by said cable.

9. In a device of the character described, a balloon cable, a telephone line reel, a stationary brake, means for mounting said reel between said cable and said brake, means carried by said reel for engaging said brake and said cable, one at a time, means resiliently controlling the movement of said `reel between said brake and said cable whereby it may be directed into contact with either said brake or-said cable.

l0. The combination of a telephone line reel adapted to lead to a balloon, a movable balloon cable, a brake, means for mounting said reel oscillatably between said cable and said brake, and means whereby said reel may be brought into operative relation with either said cable or said brake.

11. The combination of a telephone line reel mounted for operation by the moving cable of a balloon, a brake, and a resilient, oscillatable reel mounting for moving said reel into operative relation with either said brake or said cable.

l2. In a device of the character described, a movable balloon cable, a rotatable reel adapted to wind thereon and unwind therefrom a balloon telephone line, said reel being rotated in one direction only by said cable, a brake with which said reel is adapted to contact, and means for bringing said reel either into contact'with said cable to rotate said reel vor into contact with said brake to retard its rotation. i

13. In a device of the character described, a movable balloon cable, a rotatable reel adapted to wind thereon and unwind therefrom a balloon telephone line, said reel being rotated by said cable for winding said line, a brake with which said reel is adapt-` ed to contact, and means for bringing said reel eitherinto contact with said cable to rotate said reel or into contact with said brake to retard its rotation.

14. In a device of the character described, a movable balloon cable, a rotatable reel adapted to wind thereon and unwind therefrom a balloon telephone line, said reel being rotated by said cable for winding said line, a brake with which said reel is adapted to contact, and resilient means for bringing said reel either into contact with said cable to rotate said reel or into contact with said brake to retard its rotation.

15. The combination with a constantly taut, but movable, reel held connecting element, of a brake element, a reel mounted in operative relationwith respect to both the connecting element and brake element, and means for selectively holding the reel in engagement with the movable connecting element to cause rotation of the reel or engagement with the brake element to retard rotation o said reel.

In testimony whereof I have signed my ,naine in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

y oHAs. H. ROTH.

l'Vitnesses B. J. MCDANEL, L. E. WAGNER. 

